Changing Her Heart (2 page)

“It's okay. I know that you'll help me pick the best one. I just want to make sure it's a surprise.”

Randy sighed. Not only had no one ever given him a surprise birthday party, no one had ever given him an expensive gift. Of course, he didn't expect such gifts from his friends. They routinely gave each other the standard guy-gifts—CD's, tools, computer paraphernalia and, lately, music books. The biggest surprise was when it was wrapped.

His family had never given gifts. Not that they couldn't afford them, they just never did. All his life he'd learned how to get by without asking or expecting anything. That way, he was never disappointed.

But lately, he'd seen the other side of the fence from his friends. Adrian had been thrilled at his latest birthday gift from Celeste, handmade mouse and
keyboard covers that were cleverly made to look like a real mouse and a piece of cheese.

He focused back on Lacey. “Don't worry. I can hold the computer of your choice in the store until the day before the party. That way you don't have to worry about spoiling the surprise.” He smiled and tried to turn on his “salesman patter.” “You'll get a surprise, too, with how good a deal I'm going to give you on this computer. I'll even throw in a bunch of extras.”

Lacey smiled back weakly. “I honestly don't know what's standard. I'm just going to have to trust you.”

“Don't worry. I won't take advantage of you.”

“Just remember that if I do find out one day that you charged me too much, I'm right next door, all day, every day.”

Randy opened his mouth, but no words came out. He didn't know if she was teasing him, or if this really was some kind of warning. Either way, it intrigued him. The woman had guts, and he liked that.

He sipped his coffee, speaking over the rim of the cup. “You go right ahead and do all the comparison shopping you want. Then you'll know how good a deal I'm going to give you.”

“That's fine. And the next time you come in to buy more panty hose, I'll do the same for you.”

Randy choked on his coffee, then lowered the cup to the saucer. “Now just a minute. Those weren't for
me, and I never…” His words trailed off when Lacey's stifled giggles broke through.

“Gotcha,” she said from behind her coffee cup.

“Not funny,” he pretended to grumble, struggling not to laugh back. He suddenly became very serious. “I need to know one more thing, and that's how much time you and…Bryce, was it? are going to spend together on it.”

Lacey looked puzzle. “Together? None. I frankly don't see how some people spend hours and hours on the computer every day.”

Randy smiled. “I couldn't be without my computer. Computers are my only source of income, so I have to keep up with all the latest and the greatest.” He grinned wryly. “Sometimes my online activities make me late for practice on Wednesday nights, but, of course, I'm never late for work.”

She stared blankly at him. Randy hadn't meant to get so personal, but his computer and all that went with it had played a big part in his recovery.

“What is it you're practicing? Are you in a league?” Lacey asked.

“Uh…” Randy felt his cheeks flush. “Actually, it's not sports, it's music, and it's my friends who are really practicing, not me. When we first started I tried to learn to play keyboards from a book, but that went about as well as you might expect, so they found someone else to do it. But Celeste is phenomenal.
Maybe even the best piano player I've ever met. So now I work the sound system and do all the computer stuff, which is right up my alley.”

She smiled. “That sounds like fun. Does your band have a CD out?”

Randy laughed. “No. It's nothing like that. It's just the worship team for church.”

“Just? Don't say that. The worship team is important. I think it's wonderful that you're utilizing your talents. I wish I could do something like that, but I don't seem to be good at anything besides sewing.”

“That's a skill not everyone has. Maybe you can…” His voice trailed off. “Wait—you go to church?”

“Yes, I do.”

Randy smiled. “Great! Would you like to join me in a short prayer before we eat? It's always awkward to ask that in work situations, or when you don't know someone very well.”

“I was just thinking the same thing. I'd like that.”

Just at that moment, the waiter arrived with their meals. Randy led with a short prayer, and they began to eat.

“So, did you move to Appleton recently?”

“No. I live downtown, where I just rent an apartment. Now that I have the new job, I think I'm going to move closer to it. Do you live near the mall?”

“Yes. I grew up not far away from here. It seemed natural to get a job in the neighborhood, too.” More
than that, his friend Bob knew Tom, the store owner. Because of Bob's reference, Tom offered Randy a job when no one else would consider him. He'd been there ever since, which was coming up on six years. And now he was the assistant manager.

“I'll never move. I live within two minutes of my friends, within five minutes of my church and ten minutes from my job.” He didn't know why God blessed him like this, especially when he'd once blamed God for so much. But now his life was in order, and he didn't intend to ever change a thing.

Randy dunked one of his fries in the blob of ketchup, coating it just right. “Where do you go to church, then, if you live downtown?”

Lacey smiled, and her eyes turned dreamy as she spoke. “Every Sunday morning I drive back to the west end where I grew up and go with my family, and we spend the day together.”

Randy nodded. He spent a lot of time at church, but it was with his friends. He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen his family. Usually it didn't bother him, but today, watching Lacey smile at her private thoughts, it reminded him of the big hole in his life. For the past few years he'd been so busy with his friends that he hadn't really noticed, but now that Adrian and Celeste were married and Bob was getting married, Randy had more time on his hands. Still, God always found things for him to do, and
Randy couldn't complain. “Lately I've been going to both the morning and evening services because I'm on the worship team, so that keeps me pretty busy on Sundays. It's sometimes a lot of work, but at the same time, it's also fun. And speaking of fun, I should tell you a little about the sidewalk sale that's coming up at work next week. Or rather, I should warn you.”

Lacey's fork froze halfway to her mouth. “Warn me?”

“You can see some really funny things with bargain hunters. There's this one couple who always show up, and one of them always wears a disguise, as if we can't recognize him. I hear everyone's already making bets to see what he's going to do this year. Last year, the guy pretended to be a rich Texan—big hat, the drawl, everything. He even pasted on a fake mustache. You could tell it was fake because it was a different color than his hair, and it was crooked. It was hilarious.” Randy grinned, remembering Carol's reaction when the man called her “L'il lady.” He really thought Carol was going to kick him.

Randy sobered. “Seriously, though, you've got to watch out for them. He tries to distract the staff person at one end of the table while his partner, who is dressed normally, tries to steal something from the other end.” He leaned forward over the table, and Lacey leaned forward in response.

“She always puts smaller items in her bra so no one will challenge her to put them back. But last year when I caught her and started calling the cops on my cell phone, she dug everything out real fast and ran.”

Lacey gasped. “You're kidding!”

“I wish I was.” Randy straightened. “But most of the time, the sidewalk sale is a lot of fun.”

Lacey glanced from side to side. “Have you noticed that we're nearly the only ones here? I think we lost track of the time.”

Randy looked around, confirming that she was indeed correct.

“Yeah. I guess we should go.”

While he signaled the waiter for the bill, a strange sense of loss came over him. He couldn't remember the last time he'd enjoyed himself so much. He was at an age where most of the women he knew were sizing him up for a husband, so those situations quickly became awkward. God had shown him that he wasn't husband material, and he never would be.

But Lacey was marriage material. Randy couldn't help but think that her boyfriend was indeed one lucky man. Tonight, Randy had thoroughly enjoyed himself, but for tonight he was on borrowed time, and the lender had called in the loan. It was time to go home.

When she dropped him off in front of his apartment building, a surge of melancholy for what could never happen coursed through him.

Once inside, instead of settling down, Randy walked to the patio door to his balcony and looked out the window. They'd stayed at the restaurant so long that it was dark, and all the city lights were on. His suite faced downtown, so he had a good view from the seventeenth floor.

Randy stepped out onto the balcony to take in the city below. He couldn't make out specific details, but he could see the brightly colored lights of the mall in the distance.

He gazed over the expanse of the city, paying particular attention to the high-rise towers in the downtown core, wondering which building was Lacey's.

“I
'll be back in two hours, Kate,” Lacey called as she stepped into the mall.

As she began walking toward the mall center, Lacey glanced into the computer store on her way past, but she didn't see Randy at work.

Randy.

Being out with him had almost felt like a date, except it wasn't. He was only helping her select the right computer for Bryce. Yet, after going out with him only once, she couldn't help but like him. In fact, he was almost too good to be real.

Lacey had learned the hard way that when something seemed too good to be true, it usually was.

She pushed thoughts of the charming salesman out of her head as she continued walking toward the mall's feature display of the week. The police depart
ment had set up a display to raise public awareness of the dangers of drinking and driving and Lacey had volunteered to help give out information at the booth.

Drunk driving had ruined her family and she didn't want to see it happen to anyone else.

Lacey didn't remember her father being a heavy drinker, but at the time, her perspective had been that of a child. Most of his drinking would have been at night, after she had been put to bed. Most of her memories of her father were good, doing typical family things together. Usually their family was happy, but she did remember her parents arguing after her father had been out with his friends. She remembered him acting rather strangely when he came home, but she hadn't known why. The only thing she knew then about her father's drinking was that he “went out for a drink” with his friends after work on paydays. On paydays, he always came home acting more strangely than other days.

It was on one payday that her father never came home again.

Because he died in an accident that he'd caused, and because he'd been drunk, no insurance would pay on the policy—not the auto insurance, nor the life insurance, and there was no life insurance on the mortgage. Slowly and painfully, over the next year, their home was foreclosed on, their savings were eroded and their extended family was torn apart. As
she grew up, Lacey's most vivid memories were of her mother, crying, all alone, after she thought that Lacey and her brother and sister were sleeping.

Lacey didn't want the same thing to happen to anyone else, yet she saw it happening to Susan, her sister. No matter what Lacey said or did, she couldn't get Susan's husband, Eric, to see the risk he was creating for his family, and that if he died, the same thing would happen. Eric also wasn't taking into account the strangers who would be innocent victims if he continued on his path to self-destruction.

Eric insisted that he wasn't a serious drinker because he didn't drink every day. He often accused Lacey of trying to cause trouble between himself and Susan. Eric didn't know about the countless times Susan had called her in the middle of the night, worried because Eric still hadn't come home when she knew he was out drinking with his friends. On other days, Susan said she shouldn't have let the moment get to her, that Eric's drinking wasn't that bad.

Since those whom she loved wouldn't listen, the only thing Lacey could do was to try to help strangers.

As Lacey approached the display, a police officer was talking to the volunteer who would be working with her, as well as a woman who was packing up a few things, ready to leave.

Lacey's breath caught when she saw who she was to be her partner for the next hour.

“Randy. Hello.”

The officer smiled at her. “I see you two already know each other. That's great. I'll leave Randy to show you what to do, and I'll get back to my area.” He returned to the Breathalyzer and other equipment that was only for police use, leaving her alone with Randy.

Randy smiled as he wrote up a name tag for her. “We're supposed to split our time between pointing out different focus areas for people who try out and keeping the tables tidy, putting new brochures into the displays as people take them and just smiling and looking friendly.”

Lacey nodded. “I can certainly do that. It's nice to see you volunteering your time.”

“It's not really such a sacrifice. I have personal reasons for being here. A good friend was killed in a drinking-and-driving accident a few years back, and I want to do what I can to raise awareness. I know a lot of people, so maybe someone will recognize me and come and ask questions.”

“Oh.” Lacey's throat constricted. The only person killed in her father's accident had been her father, but she often lay awake at night, wondering if he'd ever caused an accident he either didn't know about, or wouldn't admit to, when someone swerved to avoid him. She didn't want to think that there could be, but she had to accept that it might have happened. It was
too long ago to have been a connection between the death of her father and the death of Randy's friend, but that didn't mean it hadn't happened to someone else.

The possibility made her even more angry at how some people could be so irresponsible, both with their own lives, and of the lives of others around them.

She rested one finger on the schedule. “There are still a few slots not filled. I want to put my name down for another shift. What about you?”

He nodded. “I'm on the list for Saturday because that's the mall's busiest day.”

“But you're off on Saturday, aren't you?”

“Yeah. That way I can be here for more than just the length of my lunch break.”

Guilt raced through Lacey. She should have been giving up more of her time, too, but she had set Saturday aside to prepare for Bryce's party. Now, thinking that all she was doing was getting ready to do something fun, she felt selfish.

As she had been instructed, she began to tidy the piles of brochures, when a young couple entered the area. The woman approached her and asked for help to find a brochure that contained recipes for nonalcoholic punch. Lacey pointed to the Alternatives section and stepped aside.

While she waited, the young man approached Randy.

“Can you tell her that coffee is good enough, that she doesn't have to make something without alcohol for people?”

Randy's hands froze above the display he was rearranging. “That's a very common myth, but it's not true. Coffee doesn't make a person sober up, neither does food. If you have something in your stomach you don't get drunk so fast, but you still get just as drunk. The only thing that sobers a person up is time.”

The young man blinked. “That's not true. Coffee works.”

Randy shook his head. “No. Coffee won't sober you up. It just makes you a wide-awake drunk. Caffeine is a stimulant. It's the stimulant that makes you think you're more sober than you actually are.”

“That's not true, man. I know it works.”

Lacey glanced toward the young woman to make sure she didn't need any more help, then stepped closer to the two men. She, too, had always believed that drinking coffee would help a person to sober up. She'd been with Susan often, helping to make coffee so it would be ready for when Eric got home after an evening of being out with his friends.

The only thing wrong with that scenario was that Eric had already driven home by the time he started drinking the coffee.

Randy pulled out one of the brochures and handed it to the young man. “Sorry, but the only thing about
coffee that sobers you up is the time it takes to drink it. Water does the same, except it doesn't make you need to go to the bathroom as much, and it doesn't leave you hyper.”

The young man slapped the brochure onto the table without opening it. “I don't need this propaganda.”

Randy picked up a pen, scribbled something on the brochure, then handed it back. “Then check out this coffee manufacturer's Web site or check out a few search engines. Everything will tell you the same thing. If your guests drink, have a designated driver, or be a responsible host and budget money for cab fare. In some states, the host may be held legally responsible if their guests drive home drunk and have an accident.”

The young man froze. “What?”

Randy crossed his arms over his chest. “Think about it.”

The young man stepped back, and stomped to the lady he'd arrived with. She quickly picked out one of every brochure in the row, and the two of them hurried away.

Lacey stared at Randy. “How do you know all that stuff?”

“I just do.”

She waited for him to say more, but he didn't.

“Randy, I was wondering—”

Behind her, a middle-aged man entered the display area, cutting off her question.

“Excuse me. I was wondering if you could tell me some information about roadside suspensions.”

Randy pointed to the police officer who was on the other side of the display area. “He's the man to ask about legal matters.”

The man backed up a step. “No way. I'm not asking the police. I'm only asking about it for a friend.”

From the looks of the man's bloodshot eyes, Lacey found that highly unlikely.

“I really can't comment,” Randy said, “but if you want to know at what point blood alcohol levels result in a roadside suspension, you can read these brochures.”

Randy picked brochures off a number of piles, gathered them together, then offered the man one specifically on suspensions.

Lacey's throat tightened. Roadside suspensions were much more common today than when she was a child. If her father's license had been suspended, he might still be alive, and her life would have been very different.

The man reached out and accepted all of the pamphlets.

Randy stepped back and tapped a picture of a man in a jail cell, presumably the drunk tank. “But before you think of the legal ramifications, you should think about what it would be like to be without your car.
After court, a twenty-four-hour suspension could go further, resulting in a driving prohibition, plus a fine, depending on the severity of the offence and prior records. If that happened, how would you get to work? What would you say to people who asked why you always needed a ride wherever you went? You'd have to worry about increased insurance premiums once you get your license back, on top of all that. Ask yourself if it's worth it to have a few drinks before getting into the car.”

The man's face paled and he dropped all the brochures but one. “I'll tell my friend that,” he muttered, turned and walked away.

“Wow,” Lacey exclaimed. “You're good here. No wonder you're doing this. You know so much.”

“Yeah,” Randy said quickly, then spun around and began to straighten out the brochures the man with the bloodshot eyes had dropped.

Lacey stepped closer. “All I was going to do was smile and hand out brochures. You're really getting up close and personal. You're having quite an effect on people.”

“It's a gift,” Randy mumbled, not looking up at her.

She stared at him as he continued to tidy up piles she thought were quite straight enough.

She knew Randy was very inconvenienced being unable to take his car to work due to the increased parking security, and it impressed her that he was
using that knowledge and experience in a constructive way.

Unless he knew so much about having a driver's license suspended from more personal experience….

Lacey shook her head at the wayward direction of her thoughts. The concept that Randy could ever have had his license suspended because of drinking was preposterous. They had been out together for supper at a restaurant where alcoholic drinks were readily available, and the issue hadn't even come up. Randy was also a committed Christian, active in his church. The only reason he didn't have his car was because of the new parking regulations.

Which reminded her that Randy currently needed transportation.

Lacey spoke quickly, before someone else came to browse at the display. “Would you like a ride home again tonight?”

He smiled hesitantly.

Lacey's foolish heart fluttered.

“Yeah, I'd like that. Thanks.”

“Maybe we can do dinner again and talk more about Bryce's computer? I don't want to wait until the last minute and run out of time.”

“Sure. We can do that.”

“Then I'll see you at five.”

The new volunteer arrived at the booth, right on time, ending their conversation. Randy waved to the
police officer at the other end to signal his pending departure, and turned back to Lacey.

“See you later,” he said, and walked away.

 

Adrian Braithwaite unplugged the cord from between his guitar and the amp, wound it, fastened the Velcro strap and tossed it into the bin.

“You were late today,” he said as he watched Randy unplug another cord and do the same. “I thought you were going to be early. I even bought extra doughnuts.”

“I can't take my car to work anymore.”

“That didn't really answer my question.”

“You didn't ask a question.”

Adrian waited for Randy to say more, but Randy didn't elaborate. Not only did he not elaborate, Randy didn't come up with a hundred and one farfetched excuses, nor did he respond with a lame joke. He was also very busy cleaning up instead of hiding in the kitchen eating the extra half a box of doughnuts while everyone else put everything away.

Something wasn't right. And Adrian was going to find out what it was.

“Then how did you get to work?”

“I've been using my inline skates.”

Adrian frowned. “Really? Why didn't you just take the bus? Oh, wait.” Adrian paused, remembering incidents from their younger days when he, Bob,
Randy and their other friend Paul had taken the bus on many of their excursions. He couldn't count the times they all had to disembark in a hurry because Randy had to go throw up, even when they sat in the front while they traveled to their chosen destination of the day. Randy's parents laughed it off, but Bob's mother always came to give them a ride whenever Randy couldn't get back on the bus after being so violently sick.